With the advent of digital lighting technologies, it is becoming increasingly popular to create lighting networks of light-emitting diode (LED) based lighting devices, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,016,038, 6,150,774 and 6,166,496, each of which are incorporated herein by reference. Fantastic lighting effects can be created with these systems and the lighting effects can be coordinated through a network to make, for example, a rainbow chase down a hallway or corridor. These lighting systems are generally controlled through a network, although there are many non-networked applications, wherein a data stream containing packets of information is communicated to the lighting devices. Each of the lighting devices may see all of the packets of information but only respond to packets that are addressed to the particular device. Once a properly addressed packet of information arrives, the lighting device may read and execute the commands. This arrangement demands that each of the lighting devices have an address and these addresses need to be unique with respect to the other lighting devices on the network. The addresses are normally set by setting switches on each of the lighting devices during installation. Settings switches tends to be time consuming and error prone.
Lighting systems for theatres, entertainment, retail and architectural venues such as casinos, theme parks, stores, malls, etcetera, require elaborate lighting instruments and, in addition, networks to control the lights. One of the designers' most onerous tasks comes after all the lights are in place: configuration. This involves going to each instrument or light fixture and determining and setting the network address of each unit through the use of switches or dials and then determining the setup and corresponding element on a lighting board or computer. Two people usually accomplish this and, depending on the distance, use walkie-talkies and enter into a lot of back and forth discussion during the process. With sufficient planning and coordination this address selection and setting can be done a priori but still requires substantial time and effort
This task can take many hours depending on the locations. For example, a new amusement park ride may use hundreds of lighting fixtures, each of which is controlled over a network and are neither line-of-sight to each other or to any single point. Each one must be identified and a correspondence made between the light and its setting on the lighting control board. Mix-ups and confusion are common during this process.
Currently, networked lighting devices have their addresses set through a series of physical switches such as dials, dipswitches or buttons. These devices have to be individually set to particular addresses and this process can be cumbersome. It would be useful to avoid this process or make the system more user friendly.
There are several other problems associated with these lighting systems. While many such lighting systems are used for indirect lighting, general illumination and the like, some such systems are used for direct view applications. That is, the viewer is directly viewing the light emitted from the lighting system (e.g. accent lighting on a building where the light is intended to outline the perimeter of the building.) Generally, these lighting systems have gaps in light emission towards the ends of the system and alignment of one lighting system next to another produces gaps where there is little or no light produced. There are many installations that require long lines of lighting systems placed in a row or other pattern in an attempt to produce a continuous light line. The gaps in light tend to detract from such applications.
Another problem associated with these systems is that when the LEDs are directly viewed they appear to be discrete light emitters until there is sufficient distance between the light and the viewer. Even when the viewer is relatively far away from the lighting system, the lighting system does not tend to produce very bright or brilliant lighting effects.
Another problem associated with these lighting systems is that the communication and power is fed through the ends of the housing and into junction boxes at the beginning and end of every light. The three lines, power ground, data, are run through each end and then passed through the length of the fixture. Each lighting element in the housing would tap into the three lines for power and data. Mounting of the lights is very expensive because it is done through junction boxes. Every light required two junction boxes to be mounted on the wall or other mounting surface and wires and conduit needs to be run between boxes to allow two lighting units to be connected together.